MINUTES
OF MEETING
NORTH
SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The
regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement
District was held on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 4:35 p.m. at the District
Offices, 10300 NW 11 Manor, Coral Springs, Florida.
Present and constituting a quorum
were:
Matt Lauritzen President
Salvatore J. Mendolia Secretary
Steve Mendelson Supervisor
Also present were:
George Keller Manager
Dennis Lyles Attorney
John McKune Gee & Jenson
Dan Daly Staff
Joni Hayworth Staff
Jean M. Rugg Severn Trent
Services
Roger Moore Severn Trent
Services
Roy Kroker Severn Trent
Services
Tara-Lynn Patton WCI
Patti Hitchcock Town
Center
Michael Udine Parkland City
Commission
Karen Mazurek Resident
Linda Kowal Resident
Warren R. Craven Resident
Valerie Verger Resident
Mike Hollander Resident
Cindy Dennis Resident
The pledge of allegiance was
recited.
Mr. Lauritzen called the meeting to
order and called the roll.
SECOND
ORDER OF BUSINESS Organizational
Matters
A. Appointment of
Supervisor to Fill the Unexpired Term of Office (6/2008)
Mr. Lauritzen stated Mr. Steve Mendelson
is qualified to take the position.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor Mr. Steve Mendelson was appointed Supervisor to fill the unexpired
term of office.
B. Oath of Office of Newly Appointed
Supervisor
Mr.
Keller, being a Notary Public of the State of Florida, administered the Oath of
Office to Mr. Mendelson and a copy of the signed oath is attached hereto and
made part of the public record.
Mr.
Keller presented Mr. Mendelson with the Form 1 Financial Statement to be filed
with the Supervisor of Elections in the county in which he resides as well as a
guide to the Sunshine Amendment.
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the May 5, 2005 Meeting
Mr.
Lauritzen stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the May 5,
2005 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the minutes of the May 5, 2005 meeting were approved.
EIGHT
ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion
Item – Presentation by the Heron Bay Residents Relating to the Facilities, Programs,
Policies and Procedures
Ms.
Mazurek stated I have a petition signed by 72 members who play tennis stating
we are very happy with the policies and procedures governing the tennis
committee. We are also pleased with the
way the facility is being run. These are
the primary players. There is a process
in place to handle any tennis related items first. They have to present the grievance to the
tennis committee and it is resolved there.
The tennis committee has a chairman, co-chairman, B Team representative,
A Team representative, social representative and a secretary to take notes.
Mr.
Keller stated Ms. Verger, others and myself met with Ms. Kay Grace to review
some of the issues she expressed at last month’s meeting. It helped clear the air and some
understanding of the right form of process to air any concerns going before the
committee. It was a beneficial
experience.
Ms.
Kowal stated when somebody comes in with a tennis issue, your immediate
response should be this is not the appropriate arena. There are procedures set in place. They can go to the tennis committee to get
their issues solved. The majority of the
homeowners are happy.
Ms.
Mazurek stated Ms. Grace has not put in a written grievance to the
committee. I spoke to her two evenings
ago and asked her to put it in writing to the tennis committee so we can handle
it.
Mr.
Udine asked do you just handle tennis committee issues?
Ms.
Kowal responded yes. We open social
playing for residents and court usage.
It is set up for residents.
Elections are posted. They are
opened. You can get involved if you
desire. It is a process which makes it
fair for everyone.
Ms.
Mazurek stated the tennis committee has nothing to do with how the facility is
being managed. From a usage perspective,
we are very happy with the way the courts are being managed.
Mr.
Udine stated the fact there is a tennis committee does not absolve this
Board. This is a club that has to have
policy and procedures before you throw someone out of a club for violating a
tennis rule.
Ms.
Kowal stated the rules and regulations are separate from the policy and
procedures. The policy and procedures
are overseen by the tennis committee.
The rules and regulations are handled by the management.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Change Order No. 3 with Triple R Paving, Inc., for Nob Hill Road, University
Drive (Phase 2) and County Line Road for a Net Increase of $20,880.
Mr.
McKune stated this is a minor change order requested by WCI for the addition of
seed and mulch on University Drive and County Line Road. The cost of this is $20,880. The expense is the total responsibility of
WCI.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor Change Order No. 3 with Triple R Paving, Inc., for Nob Hill Road,
University Drive (Phase 2) and County Line Road for a net increase of $20,880
was approved.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Permit Requests
A. Parkland Golf and County Club POD 9 –
Drainage Outfall into Canal S2-2
Mr.
McKune stated there are 40 single family homes draining into the onsite lake
which discharges into the District facility.
This is a normal drainage permit.
It runs to the east of Pine Island Road along Trails End.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the permit request for Parkland Golf and Country Club POD 9 was
approved.
B. Parcel A – Wyndham Heights
Mr.
McKune stated this one is in the area south of the Sawgrass Expressway and west
of Coral Springs Drive. There was a
drainage pipe crushed which caused flooding as far as Wyndham Lakes. There was an emergency call with a proposal
to make drainage pipe repairs. The
sketch in the agenda package came to us as a fax and not through the normal
channels of being reviewed by the District because it was an emergency. We recommend approval of this permit.
Mr.
Moore stated this is private drainage.
It has nothing to do with us, but they need to come to us for a
permit. It has been a drainage problem
for years. They were suppose to begin
Monday due to street flooding. There is
no cost to us.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the permit request for Parcel A Wyndham Heights was approved.
SIXTH
ITEM OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Parkland Village Plat
Mr.
Keller stated Ms. Hitchcock is here to represent the plat. Staff had a chance to review it and we
believe it will be a quality project and a valuable addition to the community.
Ms.
Hitchcock stated the Parkland Village Plat is located by Trails End in the
south, Pine Island on the east and Nob Hill on the west. It is approximately 100 acres and the
proposed development is for 177 single-family homes. There are 70 acres to do condominiums, 45,000
square feet of commercial and a 12 Acre elementary school site. We are going through the City of Parkland and
Broward County for approval, but we need your approval first.
Mr.
Lauritzen stated the 12 acres you set aside for the school is very generous.
Ms.
Hitchcock stated there will be approximately 80 students out of the 177
single-family homes. If we were to
mitigate those through a policy Broward County has, it would be a payment of
$1.5 Million. We are donating the 12 acre
site which has a value of $6 Million. We
are working with the Broward County School Board on getting construction funds
and capital improvement funds.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the Parkland Village Plat was approved.
SEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions
and Comments on Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2006
Mr.
Keller stated this item does not require action on your part. The proposed general fund budget was handed
out to you last month. We intended to
give you a draft of the water and sewer budget today, but it is running behind
schedule. We hope to have it for you in
the next few days and we will distribute it to you soon. You will have an additional month in between
to review it and we will hold an adoption hearing in August for the water and
sewer budget.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Attorney
Mr. Lyles stated our codification bill was passed by the
Florida Legislature. It was sent to the
Governor’s office. I have been briefed
by legislative staff and by the executive director of the legislative
delegation for Broward County. The
governor has until June 15, 2005 to sign the veto under this bill. I do not expect any problems. I will be able to report to you at the next
meeting that our codification bill was enacted into Florida law.
B. Engineer
There
being no report, the next item followed.
C. Superintendent
Mr. Keller stated in regard to the tennis issue, the
communication is open and there is a forum to deal with any questions.
In
regard to the Heron Bay commons property, I have not received any information
or completion on the traditional financial audit. We had an operational audit which Severn
Trent contracted Rachlin & Cohen to do.
I anticipate getting a written report from them. They completed their interviews and
reviews. No missing funds have been
found as well as any deliberate intent of wrong doing. There is a lack of standard operating
procedures in terms of how things are done.
There are no specific guidelines to go by. Many of the terms and conditions specified in
the contract have not been followed in terms of who does what. There is a need to reassess the contract
terms and there is a need for standard operating procedures. We will be able to provide you with more
detail at the next meeting.
Mr.
Lauritzen asked is it fair to say the operation is being done within normal
limits?
Mr.
Keller responded this is an operational audit.
No misconduct or missing funds were found. There is a need for more structure and
standard operating procedures of how things will be done.
Mr.
Lauritzen asked when can we expect a completion in writing as well as the
completion of the other audit?
Mr.
Keller responded we should have the written report on the operational audit
within the next couple of weeks. I
anticipate the traditional financial audit to be done within the next couple of
weeks as well.
TENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s
Request and Audience Comments
Mr.
Udine stated I sent an email to Mr. Todd Stevens approximately two months
ago. The second amenity in Heron Bay being
built on the north side of the community is delayed. The email I sent said there should be a
lifeguard at the Heron Bay Commons.
There is a sign saying “Swim at Your Own Risk.” In the policy and procedures it says there is
a lifeguard, which usually is not there.
The pool rules say you are limited to 72 people. That is not happening. It is packed because the new amenity center
is not ready yet. WCI should be paying
for a lifeguard through their sales department because they are using the
facility to sell property. The
association should not pay for it until
the new facility is done.
Mr.
Keller stated I will follow up to take a look at what the policies in place
call for.
Mr.
Hollander asked are the audits going to be available to the public?
Mr.
Keller responded the traditional financial audit is a public document. I am not certain about the other audit. It has been contracted directly by Severn
Trent. Any details will be in a written
report.
Mr.
Lyles stated Severn Trent, being a private and corporate entity, used its funds
to commission the audit. It is going to
be Severn Trent’s option to submit the audit to the Board. If it does, it will be a public record. If they use it for their own internal working
processes and review, it will not be a public record.
Mr.
Keller stated Severn Trent wanted to have an additional set of professional
eyes on the situation to give another professional opinion. The issues will be addressed with the Board.
Mr.
Hollander stated I have been trying to get some documents for a long time and I
think they are not there. If this
company is looking for something that is not there, how will they know
something is wrong?
Mr.
Keller responded we indicated to you all of the documents you are looking for
from 1999 to 2002 are available here or at Heron Bay property. If you arrange with the District accountant,
she will make time to go through them with you.
Mr.
Hollander stated I spoke to her and asked her if she had the tennis
contract. I want to see the contracts
with the pros and the management company.
She has documents, but she does not have those.
Mr.
Keller stated you indicated there were documents you wanted to see from 1999 to
2002. Everything existing is
available. If there are things you still
want to see after looking through them, let us know because we want to know if
there is something missing.
Mr.
Hollander stated there is a piece of the building in Heron Bay being
investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement because of the shenanigans
the Mayor of Parkland has been known for.
Are you aware of it?
Mr.
Keller responded I have been told by a number of sources.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Invoices, Requisitions and Financial Statements
There
being no questions or comments,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the invoices, requisitions and financial statements were approved.
Mr.
Keller stated the CSID has been talking about security provided at this
particular facility for the past few years.
Security has been taken care of at a higher level than related to the
direct threat of this facility. You may
want to consider how you balance out those issues and costs as well as what
level might be needed with the threat.
It is a matter of trying to determine the best way to approach security
by improving the perimeter fencing, doing some additional security gate work,
doing technology work with cameras and other detection devices. It is something to give a thought about at
the NSID facility.
TWELFTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There being no further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Lauritzen with all
in favor the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
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Salvatore J. Mendolia Matt Lauritzen
Secretary Chairman